Former Presidential candidate for 2011 general elections and current senator representing Kano Central district in the 9th National Assembly, Ibrahim Shekarau has stated that the next Nigerian president should come from the South.
He explained that a president from the Southern part of the country will help the country to attain a political balance.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, December 3, Shekarau noted that by 2023, President Muhammadu Buhari who is from the northern part of the country, would have been in power for eight years, and “common sense tells one that we should look at the other side, to the Southern part of Nigeria”.
When asked about his position on the growing call for a South East presidency in 2023, he said, “I don’t call it zoning, I would rather call it some balancing. There has to be some sense of belonging. There is what I call the constitution of common sense.
READ ALSO: Resign, you have nothing new to offer — Northern Elders beg Buhari
“The Constitution of Nigeria or the constitution of any of the political parties didn’t say if I am from the North, my running mate must be from the South. It is not written but if today, I am a presidential candidate from Kano and I tell you my running mate is from Bauchi, you will say something is wrong with me.
“The presidency has just been from the North for eight years. Common sense tells us that we should look at the other side, to the Southern part of Nigeria. We should recognise the North and the South, this is elementary geography and history.
“Perception is what you have to carry along. If you continue to dominate on one particular side, the perception from the other side is, ‘What about me?’”
The former minister of education also weighed in on the security situation across the country, arguing that President Buhari is breaking the law by retaining the current Service Chiefs.
